By ADRIAN STEWART CO

Filipino tennis standout Alex Eala suffered an early exit in the Strasbourg Open after falling to Ukraine’s Oleksandra Oliynykova, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, in the Round of 32 on Monday night, May 18 (Philippine time).

Eala looked headed for victory after taking the opening set and moving within a set of advancing, but Oliynykova mounted a comeback to snatch the next two frames and complete the turnaround.

The match turned into a tightly contested affair, with both players trading breaks throughout the nearly even encounter.

Statistics showed Oliynykova narrowly edging Eala in total points won, 115-113, and games won, 16-14.

Despite the loss, Eala showed solid consistency on serve, recording a 71 percent first-serve rate compared to Oliynykova’s 76 percent.

The 20-year-old Filipina also committed fewer double faults, three against the Ukrainian’s eight.

Eala converted six of her nine break-point opportunities, while Oliynykova capitalized on 7-of-23 break chances.

The Ukrainian also finished with two aces and won nine service games, one more than Eala’s eight.

The defeat halted Eala’s campaign in the clay-court tournament as she continues her preparations for upcoming events on the international circuit./ASC, WDJ